Y A MATCHED PAIR OF SINHALESE EBONY-BOUND SPECIMEN PARQUETRY TRAYS ON STANDS, GALLE, CIRCA 1850

Y A MATCHED PAIR OF SINHALESE EBONY-BOUND SPECIMEN PARQUETRY TRAYS ON STANDSGALLE, CIRCA 1850Each top inlaid with specimen woods including calamander, satinwood, amboyna and palm tree, with reeded ebony borders, on folding calamander standsone tray 69cm wide, 48cm deep, the other 66cm wide, 51cm deep, both 76cm highSri Lanka has longbeen renowned for the variety and beauty of its cabinet woods. J. W. Bennett wrote in 1843 that ‘the islandabounds with teak, nadoon, pericopsis mooniana, satinwood, black and variegated ebony timber, commonlycalled calamander... and innumerable other trees… adapted to every purpose to which the ship and housebuilder, the cabinet and musical instrument maker could possibly apply them’ (F. D’A Vincent, Report on theConservation and Administration of the Crown Forests of Ceylon, Colombo, 1883, page 30).Most of the furniture made in Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) during the British occupation was intended for local consumptionby officials, planters, merchants and high-status Sinhalese. However, evidence of a healthy furniture makingindustry on the island is shown by the recording of furniture in ‘Ledgers of Exports From Colonies’ and therecording of the sterling value of ‘cabinet ware’ from Ceylon to Great Britain, Mauritius, the African portsin the Red Sea, and India. A small quantity of furniture from Ceylon was sent for display at the 1851 Great Exhibition, London, and at the 1855 Paris international Exposition, in the latter case displayed alongside samples of the many woods available on the island and the furniture serving as vehicles for the beauty and variety of different woods. In 1857 two pieces from the Great Exhibition were donated to the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) (see also Robin Jones, `Furniture from Ceylon at International Exhibitions and World's Fairs 1851 - 1904', Furniture History, vol. 40 (2004), pp. 113 - 134).A number of related tables are known – all with a variety of similar tops but having varying supports,suggesting that the manufacture of the table tops was almost a specific business, the bases commissioned according to need, taste and budget, and they might be sold or even exported in their own right.

ϒ Indicates that this lot may be subject to CITES regulations when exported. The import of lots that are subject to CITES regulations are banned in certain countries. Please check your country's import regulations before bidding. For further details on CITES regulations www.gov.uk/guidance/cites-imports-and-exports.

Condition
Good, structurally secure with wear and tear consistent with age and use. There are dents marks and scratches and shrinkage cracks throughout. The veneer specimens with some shrinkage cracks.

Buyer's Premium
33.6% up to
£25,000.00
32.4% up to
£500,000.00
31.2% above
£500,000.00